A History of Scottish Philosophy

Alexander Broadie

Abstract

There has never been a full-length history of Scottish Philosophy. Yet Scotland has an immensely rich philosophical tradition that is justly famous for the works of several towering philosophical figures including Duns Scotus, David Hume, Adam Smith and Thomas Reid. There are many others who contributed to philosophical debates in their time, whose contribution has not been fully acknowledged. Now, for the first time, a more detailed picture is offered. Throughout this survey, the author shows how a tradition of Scottish philosophical thinking has been deeply interactive with science and the a ... More

There has never been a full-length history of Scottish Philosophy. Yet Scotland has an immensely rich philosophical tradition that is justly famous for the works of several towering philosophical figures including Duns Scotus, David Hume, Adam Smith and Thomas Reid. There are many others who contributed to philosophical debates in their time, whose contribution has not been fully acknowledged. Now, for the first time, a more detailed picture is offered. Throughout this survey, the author shows how a tradition of Scottish philosophical thinking has been deeply interactive with science and the arts, religion and the law in Scotland. The book focuses on a number of philosophers from the later thirteenth to the mid-twentieth century and indicates philosophy's intimate relatation to Scottish culture. It treats the great philosophers – John Duns Scotus, Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, Adam Smith and Thomas Reid – and the lesser-known but still brilliant John Mair, George Lokert, Frederick Ferrier, Andrew Seth, Norman Kemp Smith and John Macmurray.